What is sub metering?
If you live in an apartment or a multi-unit development, you may have sub meters.
Currently, many multi-tenanted commercial and residential properties have one meter measuring a site’s total consumption. The subsequent bill is then split between all the building’s occupants, based on leased space. The problem is that this can be both inaccurate and unfair.
Sub-metering uses separate metering for each tenant, and provides allows billing to be done individually and balanced accordingly. Sub-metering contributes to good energy management by putting control in the hands of the consumer. High-usage customers see exactly what their consumption is and are motivated to cut their costs, and low-end users don’t have to subsidise other tenants.
What is a smart water meter?
While controversial, there is nothing stopping Australian residents compulsorily having a smart meter installed. In a plumbing sense, a smart meter is essentially a conventional water meter linked to an electronic data logger – a device that allows continuous electronic recording of pulse outputs from the meter. The number of pulses is recorded, with each pulse representing a specific volume of water, determined by the configuration of the meter.
The recorded data can then be sent directly to an offsite reading facility through the use of a modem or a transponder. This is especially helpful in large properties, as it does away with the need to check each meter manually, and makes it easy to monitor water consumption trends and track high use areas within a complex.
Using smart water meters, water usage can be followed in real-time, making it easy to locate leaks and fluctuations that may have previously gone unnoticed. If the base water flow is over the typical amount when all activity has ceased on site, it's clear there is a leak.
